While it is known that pinching a hose can interrupt the flow of water through a garden hose, valving for fluid control is usually much more complicated. Many fluid control devices are made from moving parts that are basically rigid, to avoid the problems of stress breakdown that can occur after multiple uses of a deformable valve member. However, such devices tend to be relatively heavy and complicated. Examples of this type are the well-known screw-down faucet type of control valve.
An example of a moveable rigid-member closure system is given by U.S. Pat. No. 4,911,336 to Blake, "Valve With Interchangeable Components", which discloses a valve with a poppet member reciprocally moveable within a cylinder.
Other valve systems may employ materials that work by deformation. An example of such a check valve in U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,017 to Tada, "Check Valve", which discloses a valve with a plurality of deformable plastic blades which seal the fluid passageway when they are seating against a valve seat by pressure U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,364 to McAllister et al., "Fluid Control Valve", discloses a valve having a fluid passageway that is closed off by direct pressure applied to an elongated bar having an angle bend. When the bar is straightened by the pressure, it elongates, thus closing the fluid passageway.
Examples of deformable fluid conduits closeable by pressure are given in: U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,004 to Poindexter, Flexible Tubing Clamp and Method of Use", which discloses a clamp having slide portions of clamping off a flexible tube intended for insertion in a human stomach; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,159 to Kawai et al., "Pinch Valve Device" which discloses a valve having a pair of nipping portions which, when brought together, close off a resilient tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,903,935 to Mrugala et al., "Bottled Water Cooler with Improved Valve Construction", which discloses, among other things, a valving system in which force applied to a lever relieves the pinching force on a section of tubing and thus opens the tube to fluid flow, the tube being normally biased closed.